Advice on rescued neglected green cheek conure

[newGCCmum]

Hi there! I have previous experience with Quakers and Greys (all healthy and hand raised with no issues) but this is my first conure, and a troubled one at that, so just looking for a little feedback from other conure keepers while waiting for his vet apt, which is unfortunately more than a month away. So, I just rescued Coco from a living situation that was less than ideal- he was kept in a cage in a small dark (one little window always covered) bedroom, alone most of the time except when his owner was home to sleep. He wasn't handled or socialized, his cage, a few toys, and perches were covered in layers of feces, and his diet consisted of nothing but pellets (at least not straight seed, fortunately). Best guesstimate of his age is about 4 yrs- I read some breeders will stamp the year on the band and his has a 19 sideways from the other numbers, so I'm guessing he hatched in 2019- the previous owner had him a little over 3 years, meaning if the age is correct he was pretty young when she got him (From a big-box pet store). Despite his less than ideal upbringing, by all appearances he seems to be in pretty decent shape, albeit dull-ish feather coloring and quite on the small size even for a conure. Here's my query....I know normally a conure need only be fed a certain amount each day, a variety of pellet with smaller offering of seed mix and fresh foods. He absolutely will not touch anything fresh, not sure if it's a personal preference or just because he's never been offered them so isn't used to it yet. He has 2 cages he goes back and forth between during the day (I do childcare from home so he can't be out during work hours, two cages are for variety so he doesn't get bored, and he seems pretty happy about it). In one cage I keep a dish of straight pellets and in the other a dish of conure specific seed/nut/dried fruit/pellet mix. Now, I started out filling them a little over the recommended daily amount because he's a bit underweight, but he literally devours everything in both dishes at least twice a day, and in the evening will still complain that he's hungry. I haven't given up on trying to get him to eat fresh food (he's still refusing though) so I'm stuck trying to figure if I should just keep refilling his bowls to let him eat as much as he wants, with the rationalization that he's just trying to catch up his nutrient deficiency, or should I be worried about him eating too much and possibly ending up with other health issues? I will be discussing this with the vet when we finally get in, but any advice to hold us over until then would be greatly appreciated. Any advice on enticing him to eat fresh foods, teach him how to play with toys, and not be scared of my hands wouldn't hurt either

 

[WillowQ]

I would eat some bird friendly vegetables that you’d like to share with him. Sit by his cage and enjoy the veggies.
Or offer a healthy part of your meal. If he sees you eating he will be more likely to understand that this new item is food. or feed the vegetables to him and to the other birds at the same yime

when I cook I remove a portion of veggies (for the birds) before they’re salted or buttered. They love having what mommy eats.
Another option is to mix the chopped or small cut vegetables with seeds to tempt him to try them. you can stick vegetable pieces through cage bars in hopes the bird will nibble them. You can hang them on a bird kabob like a toy.

Finally, for these little birds, presentation is important. I cut the vegetable so the seed are visible. Like cut a cherry tomato into halves or quarters with seeds showing. Cut a zucchini or cucumber slice with seeds showing, or a chunk with a bunch of seed visible. Beans or peas in the pod can have the pod split so bird can see the seeds.

I have also put new foods into the food dish to show them by location that this mysterious item is food.

 

[Emma&pico]

does he have a favourite perch that he likes to sit at having a skewer hanging by that perch with different veggies on is a good start as he’s sat there he will not be able to resist a nibble and hopefully start liking some
You could also try the bowl you put seeds in mix with his veggies hopefully going for a seed he may accidentally try a veggie and realise they aren’t too scary

toy encouragment stuff millet his favourite seeds treats into the toys to encourage him to play and explore foraging for food
What toys have you tired ? I’ve found cork balsa wood are a favourite foot toys seem to be a hit for gcc too

I am not sure as amount food he should be eating I will tag @Mizzely for you she’s amazing with diet

@Pixiebeak as amazing ideas too for helping introduce veggies the skewer near perch is her idea which helped mine get into veggies or at least nibble them

 

[Pixiebeak]

My GCC eats a ton more than my quakers!
Free choice of pellets and end of day free choice seeds. I never measure anyone's food . Nutrition needs vary , this is molt time and they can need 25% x base calories to I've read 209x base calories during molt.

It takes time for birds to recognize fresh stuff as food. If you can get them tasting stuff they get more willing to taste more new stuff. So fresh corn cut off the cob, boiled or scrambled egg, a taste of your duner if it parrot safe . Just start offering tud bits , and offer seed treats by hand it helps them learn that stuff you offer by hand is good. Never Chase then with you offering, hold it a little away from them and ket them walk over to you.

I've always had best much offer veggies in chunks in a flat dish outside of cage and letting them come and explore on their own
.

 

[Cosmo305]

My GCC LOVES mini bell peppers. Agreed with having the seeds showing, I usually rip the top and then the rest into a few pieces and he always starts with that part. You could also find some bigger ones and cut them so they are like bowls for the pellets he is already used to. He would be eating his normal food, out of a funny smelling edible bowl that might peak his interest. His other favorite is snap peas, he now knows how to shred them, but in the beginning I would remove one side of the pod so he could get to the beans inside easily.

And thanks for giving him a better life

 

[Mizzely]

It can take a long time to get them to eat fresh foods: they are naturally weary of things they don't know are food. Just keep offering. Sprouts are often well accepted, especially if you offer them when they have tiny little tails It took my Jardine's 3 years to eat fresh foods, but he was 19 when I got him! Here are some ideas:

Converting Parrots to a Healthier Diet - Tips

A healthy parrot starts with a healthy diet. Although the perfect diet is controversial, many parrot enthusiasts and experts agree on one thing; a seed only diet is a diet that is lacking in essential nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Studies have shown that adding fresh foods and pellets to a...

forums.avianavenue.com

I also have some tips on my site near the bottom of this article: My Chop "Recipe"

Unless they are overweight, I don't restrict pellets. I don't do much seed for my birds though... my linnie gets 1 tsp once or twice a week; my Jardine's I give 1 tbsp once a week.

You can try to offer more in foraging toys though if he seems to only be eating and not playing a lot. It will help occupy him, get his brain working, and get him moving.

 

[Trent84]

my mum rescued one too that was on seeds only, and he learned quite quickly that apples are good too-he loves them.
Other than that, we still have a few issues with him but I noticed that he'd start eating right when he'd see us having breakfast/lunch or dinner as well. So I prepared a bowl with some raw vegetables hidden next to my plate, to share our meal with him and it worked! At least he tried some salad and he definitely likes radish.
I once tried with celery, which he refused at first. I then broke the stem with my hands and he tasted it (I guess because it was a smaller piece) and loved it!! The appearance and the texture of the food plays a huge role on this.
I think they want to be involved and be an active part of the family, and when possible, share our food too. He doesn't play with toys, so foraging is not an option for him ATM.
Another thing I noticed is that it helps to give him fresh food by hand or take it off once he's done eating, to avoid him getting used to it and get bored quickly.

 

[WillowQ]

They definitely succumb to peer pressure. If all the cool birds are eating, they want some too. It’s been the best way for me to get my parrots to try something new.

 

[Pixiebeak]

They definitely succumb to peer pressure. If all the cool birds are eating, they want some too. It’s been the best way for me to get my parrots to try something new.

Definitely now a days any new adds would jump in fir fear of missing out

 

[newGCCmum]

Update- Thank you everyone for all the great advice! I apologize for taking so long to get around to that but the last month has been crazy busy for us. Coco is doing great, thriving really! He's gone from 59 grams to a chonky (but healthy) 76 grams. He's still finicky about his fresh foods: with the exception of apples (which he'll eat in any shape or form all day, everyday) he will not eat anything bigger than a grain of rice. The key was to process everything into very fine bits, so he can just dive in, scoop it up and gulp it down! He thinks it's even better with a little flax meal sprinkled on top. He also loves smoothie day!

 

[WillowQ]

My! He’s a handsome boy! He looks very well.

I got my gcc to eat veggies that were cut in small pieces as long as seeds were showing. So cucumber slices with seed or cherry tomatoes halved showing the seeds.

But you’ve got this figured out already. Just another possibility.

 

[Emma&pico]

Yay well done getting him eating

 

[Pixiebeak]

Love these happy updates! Yay eating healthy !

 

[newGCCmum]

My! He’s a handsome boy! He looks very well.

I got my gcc to eat veggies that were cut in small pieces as long as seeds were showing. So cucumber slices with seed or cherry tomatoes halved showing the seeds.

But you’ve got this figured out already. Just another possibility.

He refuses to even look at tomatoes lol The only seeds he'll eat directly from the produce are peppers, though I have to be careful to only offer that up in small chunks because large slices or whole peppers make him feel, uh... very frisky ;-)

 

[WillowQ]

Oh dear. Spicey!?

 

[newGCCmum]

Oh dear. Spicey!?

So far it seems to only be bell peppers. I'm not sure if it's the color, their nice round shape, or a combination of both, but they sure do make him feel extra spicy lol

 

[WillowQ]

Well, all my parrots would kill for a bell pepper core. Maybe it’s just that exciting.

You could try giving him halved hot peppers. He might Really love those. My greencheek loved those. Just don’t kiss him or let him groom your eyelashes.

 

[newGCCmum]

Well, all my parrots would kill for a bell pepper core. Maybe it’s just that exciting.

You could try giving him halved hot peppers. He might Really love those. My greencheek loved those. Just don’t kiss him or let him groom your eyelashes.

No worries there, I'm allergic to peppers so I'm gloved when handling and he doesn't get to give kisses until he rinses his mouth out, a lot

 

[Trent84]

That's amazing results!! I know how hard can be to have parrots experience new foods. Well done! With time, he'll be more and more curious as you both did a huge step forward.